A Catholic priest who was pastor of missions in Pembroke and two others in the Diocese of Savannah has been removed from his duties pending an investigation of alleged sexual abuse from nearly 30 years ago.

The Rev. Bob Poandl, 70, has denied the allegations, but has stepped away from his ministries and returned to the Cincinnati-based Glenmary Home Missioners pending completion of an investigation into the allegations.

Poandl served as pastor at Holy Cross Church in Pembroke, St. Christopher Church in Claxton and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Sand Hill near Claxton. He has served off and on in the diocese since 2007.

He left in 2009 after other abuse allegations in West Virginia, but those charges later were dismissed.

A press release Wednesday from the order said the Rev. Chet Artysiewicz, president of the Cincinnati-based order, learned of an alleged sexual misconduct against Poandl after the priest became aware of the allegations “through a third party.”

Poandl immediately contacted Artysiewicz about the alleged misconduct that “is said to have occurred nearly 30 years ago,” the release said.

Barbara King, spokesperson for the Diocese of Savannah, said Thursday Poandl was a religious-order priest and overseen by his order, not Diocese of Savannah Bishop Gregory John Hartmayer. The order had asked that all comment come through them, she said.

She said the order serves small towns in rural areas.

Efforts to reach order officials Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful.

According to the order, Artyseiwicz has unsuccessfully attempted to contact the alleged victim since learning of the allegation but was advised “that, at this time, the person wishes to remain anonymous.”

Poandl “was relieved of his ministry assignment as pastor to the Glenmary missions in Georgia (Claxton, Pembroke and Sand Hill) and asked to return to the Glenmary residence in Cincinnati.”

“He arrived in Cincinnati on (Monday) and has since been in residence,” the order said. “He is not allowed to publicly function as a Catholic priest during the investigation process.”

Civil authorities have been notified of the allegation as well as bishops in the diocese involved.

“I am committed to maintaining accountability and transparency as this investigative process unfolds,” Artyseiwicz said in a prepared statement. “Father Poandl and I have both pledged our full cooperation in this investigation, and I will do whatever I can to meet the pastoral needs of all those involved.”

A West Virginia judge dismissed charges of sexual abuse against Poandl in 2010 and Poandl’s record was subsequently expunged, the order said. He returned to active ministry in September 2010 following a dismissal of charges and with the unanimous recommendation of the Glenmary Review Board, the order said.

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for
following agreed-upon rules of civility. Posts and
comments do not reflect the views of this site. Posts and comments are
automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some
comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules,
click the "Flag as offensive" link below the comment.

This is NOT the first time that Fr Robert Poandl has been accused and/or charged with child sex abuse.
Child predators rarely have only 1 or 2 victims, often they have many

If anyone else has knowledge or has been harmed by Poandl, please report it to the police, do not report it to church officials, they are not the ones to be investigating child sex crimes.

This victim and the other victim are very brave for speaking up and taking action to expose the truth and protect kids. This priest needs to be put in jail and kept far away from kids forever.

Keep in mind your silence only hurts, and by speaking up there is a chance for healing, exposing the truth, and therefore protecting others. Also know that you are not alone, and there is hope and help.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims.
SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word "priest" in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Accused of something that happened 30 years ago?? While I understand that many victims often have to reach a certain level of healing to admit sexual abuse, in this country, we are innocent until proven guilty. How can anyone possibly get a fair trial after 30 years? Most of these old sex abuse cases are victim vs accused testimony with any "witnesses" having only hearsay evidence, if there is anyone who even remembers with accuracy from 30 years ago.

I am not defending anyone who sexually abuses another human being. However, I am also not supportive of convicting anyone in advance of a trial simply because they are accused of committing a crime 30 years ago.

I understand you are in the business of helping sexual abuse victims and I applaud you for that. I personally believe that sexual encounters with any human being, who is incapable of consenting to that encounter, is wrong. Children fall in that category.

However, your post has Fr. Poandl convicted of the abuse of which he is accused. You have already decided that he is guilty and needs to go to jail.

While I am sure that in your position, you consistently support the accusers, the accused are innocent until proven guilty even in crimes involving sex.

The charges against Fr. Poandl in West Virginia were dismissed by a judge and his record was expunged. Fr. Poandl reported this accusation immediately as soon as he was made aware of it, and the leaders of his order acted totally appropriately as soon as they received the information from Fr. Poandl.

No one is trying to hide anything (except the accuser who "wants to remain anonymous" at this time).

Encouraging victims of sexual abuse to come forward can be therapeutic and can result in perpetrators being brought to justice if they are tried and found guilty. Trying people in the court of public opinion is wrong, no matter what the crime.

You're right. After 30 years, I couldn't see any jury putting much into this.

Judy, you need to cool your yapper ! You jump into this discussion and convict right away by saying this guy WILL have many more victims that have not come forward yet because that's just the way it works; and you're serious about it ! ! ! Right away, there MUST BE tons of victims ALL over the world that this guy abused just because that's just the way it goes. Tell them Judy. Tell everyone that there are victims EVERYWHERE because there MUST BE!!! Just because!!!

You need to quit. This makes you look like the soccer-mom from he//. I'm not defending this guy. I'm defending "due process" from idiot soccer-moms!

This victim who was abused 30 years ago is very brave and he should never be dismissed... There is also this to consider, the 1st victim, is within the statute of limitations to get Poandl in jail for sexually abusing him in West Virginia... there is NO statute of limitations for felonies in WV..and sex abuse is a felony in WV..

Poandl is a risk to kids.. would you want him to be around your children?

Judy Jones.
ps: who knows how many victims have gone to Glenmary or diocese officials and reported being abused by Poandl... they removed him from ministry..and that does not get done easily..

No I don't go to his church. I did not realize he was as close as Pembroke though or I probably would have gone to visit. I knew him 32 years ago. The Glenmary order is a wonderful order. And to SorryYul - I can remember lots of things in my life from 30 years ago but details necessary to sit in a witness box and swear that what I remember is what happened and be grilled by a prosecutor and defense attorney - any of you who think you could do that must have the gift of the lady on Unforgetable. Just saying.

you don't have a clue what you're talking about.We're not talking about remembering your 9th birthday party, or the time Scruffy got sick.

When you're a child, and you've been touched, it's seared into your mind. You see it over and over. Sometimes it's almost an out of body experence. You're away from yourself, watching, and you can't turn away. You never forget the shame. And you never forget the guilt.

These sub-humans don't just take your innocence, they take a part of your life. You may be able to put it on a shelf and move on, but you never forget.

This 80 year old deacon of the church asked me if I wanted to go see his horses he boarded behind his house. Most 10 year old girls love horses. I said yes. He said for us to go through the house, rather than around through the gates. Halfway through the house, he grabbed me stuck his tongue in my mouth, and touched my chest (no breasts at that age), and ran his hand between my legs. He asked me if I'd ever been kissed like that before, and did I like it? How's that for freaking remembering events from 40 years ago?

And thank you very damn much for making me re-live it just now. No, I never told anyone until about 20 years ago, long after the man was dead. My mother told me she wondered at the time why I would always avoid him like the plague at the church door, where the hypocrit stood to shake hands with all the parishoners as we filed in. I would always avoid the door he was at after that. At the time, I thought it was my fault it happened.

I am a 76 year old great-grandmother and I was molested (not raped) when I was 10 years old and I remember every detail of it. That is something that stays with you. I'm not saying this priest is guilty but it certainly needs to be checked out. Give both of them lie detector tests and although they are not permissable in court, they could be used by the church. Many molesters are "so-called" religious people. Mine was and the church people would never have believed me if I had spoken up, but I didn't and he later raped a 10 year old girl and was convicted.

My post was not talking about the person who was abused. I have no doubt that person would remember what happened. But even those memories are tempered with the psychological processes that the person has lived through over the time since the event.

If there were any other "witnesses" brought by the prosecution and/or defense, those "witnesses" would be trying to recall details from 30 years ago. "Eye witness" testimony is unreliable for events that happened last week, much less 30 years ago. If there are no "witnesses", then it becomes one person's word against the other. I doubt very seriously there is any forensic evidence in this case from 30 years ago.

As another poster said, the actual abuse cases which have come to light in recent years have provided an "opportunity" for others to come forward. Some are probably real, others are looking for the settlement that they believe will come from such accusations. It is very difficult to differentiate between the two 30 years later.

There have been recent studies done on long term memory as well which indicate that our brains and psych often selectively remember the events of our lives. There are many reasons for that, but the result is the same - we don't remember things as they actually happened, we remember them through the filters of what has happened in the years since and the frame of reference we saw them through at the time.

Sexual trauma, especially in children, never leaves that individual. I have the utmost sympathy for any child who was sexually abused.

There seems to be a rampant belief among posters here that anyone accused of a crime is automatically guilty. I certainly hope each of you is never placed in the position of trying to prove your innocence if you are ever wrongly accused of a crime.

I am very sorry that you were a victim of sexual abuse as a child. I take NO responsibility for "making you relive it". Certain articles, pictures, videos and posts are too difficult for many of us because of our life experiences. We choose to ignore them, turn them off, not read them, etc.

You made the choice to not only read but respond to this article. Sometimes it is therapeutic to revisit those events and feelings that are unresolved in our lives. I pray that you find some peace.

It does. From the get-go, almost EVERY post has had the underlying assumption of guilt. Due process needs it's day first. Just because someone HERE was abused, we're quick to point the finger and convict in the sense of "he's a Catholic priest, he must be guilty." Some have gone as far as saying "there must be others he's abused because that's the way it works." Oh, and this one's good,,,"the church has already made him quit his parish, therefor that' a sign that there is guilt." What???

The victim in this case will most likely never get his day in court... the Statute of limitations prevents most victims from ever getting their day in court that is the sad part of this issue,
So you can stop blasting about memories, or innocent until proven guilty. It is extremely hard for a victim who has been sexually used and abused by a priest to be able to come forward, and you can see why by many of the comments, they will not be believed.

Also for that matter, the accused can never defend himself and get his day in court.

But Poandl had a chance over a year ago, and his lawyers were able to talk the judge into shutting the case down because of a technicality, not because the abuse did not happen. This was extremely painful and disappointing for the victim and his family. This was not about getting money, this was about getting a child predator in jail and kept away from kids.

The church officials have not even made it known where this abuse happened, or what dioceses have been notified, or what law enforcement has been notified. To my knowledge they have not warn parishioners or parents.

Also this statement in not true: "Barbara King, spokesperson for the Diocese of Savannah, said Thursday Poandl was a religious-order priest and overseen by his order, not Diocese of Savannah Bishop Gregory John Hartmayer".......

The bishop of ever diocese is responsible for every catholic organization or clergy within his territory. He has to allow them in and he can kick them out.

And yes, I fear there are more victims of Poandl, and I hope those who are still scared and silent will not let some of these posters stop you from coming forward and contacting police or even just tell someone you trust.

If you are out there, know that you are not alone, and there is hope, help and a chance for healing.

Let me just start off by saying that I am a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. I do not condone any form of Sexual Assault on anyone. BUT JUDY JUDY JUDY ... you need to remember when you were vilifying Fr. Bob the last time you and the Catholic Church put out postings for anyone who had any information about Fr. Bob to come forward and nobody did. The information went out to all the churches Fr. Bob had been in his career. Fr. Bob reported this to the Glenmary Parish and let them know when he found out. He and Glenmary decided it would be best for him to be somewhere else while this was being looked into. If you also read this article and the others it is also being said that the person will not come forward. I am not saying that this did not happen but I do believe in our court system and believe if a judge dismissed ( which I feel is the wrong word to use ) the first case and there was a 5 month wait for the prosecutor to take it to the supreme court and it was not then I believe he was falsely accused. If it turns out that this did happen then I believe Fr. Bob needs to be prosecuted but lets not prosecute until we have all the information and it has been taken to court and let the court decide. I am sorry for anyone who had been a victim of sexual assault. I as a SANE Nurse take any allegations seriously until proven otherwise. So let the courts do their job and not ruin a mans life until we have proof it was done.

SBE you never cease to amaze me with your crap. Anyone that agrees with her too. Out of all the ridiculous postings from SBE and the other bleeding hearts this one takes the CAKE.

30 years should make it all ok... times heals all wounds, eh? And since WHEN are there EYE WITNESSES to sexual child abuse? GET A GRIP! I pray for your children.

Hippy chick... did you ever tell anyone? I'm so sorry you had to go through that, what a terrible thing to carry with you for the rest of your life. I don't appreciate the condescending post directed towards you by SBE. She would know better if she weren't so convinced she KNOWS IT ALL.

Just the simple fact that this man was charged and in front of a judge for sexual child abuse allegations is ENOUGH FOR ME. Newsflash PPL... you don't get these charges against you for no reason.

Must be some life, where you spend your time sticking up for deviants that abuse children.... whether it be an out of control basketball mom or a pedophile priest. SMH

To be sure our justice system is premised on "innocent until proven guilty", but I am sure your experience with victims has sensitized you to the conditions when accusations are valid and when they are fabricated. If we were to use the US CCB 2002 commissioned John Jay College of Criminal Justice study (The Nature and Scope of the Problem of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States) findings of false accusations (N=4) verses number of verified clergy abuse incidences (more than 4000) the probability of a false accusation is 1 per 1000 reports or 0.001 probability. To help understand this probability think of a dollar; this is 1/10th of a penny chance that the accuser has made a false accusation. Now if a particular cleric has TWO accusations of abuse against him (independent of the recency or age of the abuse charge), the probability of the combined accusations BOTH being false is 0.000001 . That is taking that fore mentioned 1/10th penny and dividing it into 1000 pieces and keeping just one of those pieces as a hope for the accused being falsely accused.

As Judy has indicated and you have confirmed, the victims should have their day in court. The reality is that the Church understands the statistics that the John Jay College uncovered; the probability of victims making false accusations is extremely rare and when another (2nd) independent accuser comes forward the probability of both charges being false is astronomical. Judy's call for the scared and silent victims to come forward is a wise move for a victims' advocate because it slowly and steadily confirms the validity of the victims' claims. If a 3rd victim comes forward, you will have to hold onto your hat to prevent it from blowing off from the wind created by the Church lawyers rushing to make a settlement. You see the Church and the predators know. They know that a day in court for an accused cleric is tentative at best, but if that cleric is accused by two or more victims, the probability of that the cleric is falsely accused is "not a snowball's chance in hell".

that said they had studied people that quote studies! My point? There's a study to compel everyone's opinion. Give that up and produce some hard-core facts based on your ideas of how this issue should be looked upon.

Thanks sweetie... I have made my peace with what happened. Old Mr. Lane is long dead. The house where it happened was razed, the horse pens gone, a neighborhood has taken it's place. I rarely think about it anymore, even when I go visit my mother and sister, who still live on that road. I did react to the ignorant comments on here, and made myself go back to that day. My mother and I have talked about it. She wishes it had never happened or she had said something to me when she noticed my odd behavior. I know there is a lot of evil in this world. I can't change what happened, I can only control my reaction to it.

In a way, I'm glad SBE doesn't 'get it'. That means she never had anything like that happen to her. That is always a good thing.

Ok. You go on thinking that. I am not ignorant of evil, and what people are capable of. Sometimes, it is what it is. Nor do I waste my energy giving the benefit of doubt to adults accused of harming children in any way, shape, or form.

Trust me, I am not trying to convince you of anything.. your perspective is far too skewed for any hope. Any day now, something could happen in your life to open your eyes, perhaps it already has and you are too far gone to properly digest. It's sad when people live in denial and prefer excuses over responsibility. Even more tragic when it spills over to be callous and patronizing to people who actually KNOW and have SUFFERED. Your response shows me that you also rationalize and sugarcoat your own behavior.

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

"In a way, I'm glad SBE doesn't 'get it'. That means she never had anything like that happen to her. That is always a good thing."

That is exactly what a wise & humble person would have to say. I'm glad some of your reminders have gone away. I'd like to think these horrible things happen to strong people who will be there for someone not as strong someday.

I have read responses to articles on this board for months about people who are accused of crimes. Almost every single one is convicted by a group who posts on this board as soon as they are accused (and by the general public as well).

There are such huge issues with our judicial process that allow law enforcement and the judiciary to arrest citizens for reasons that have nothing to do with that citizen's guilt or innocence (ex. there have been a lot of robberies in the area and the public thinks we aren't doing our job because no one has been arrested - we need to arrest someone for these robberies and calm the public down). There are also political reasons why law enforcement and judges are not held accountable for following the law (no warrant, no name, no description, just an address given by someone trying to get a "deal" and go and arrest whoever is there). They have to work together every day (judges and law enforcement), so we can't slap their hands when they don't follow the law.

Citizens are slammed with a laundry list of charges, even when they are stopped for a traffic stop. They then must either try to dig themselves out of the mess, or plead guilty to some kind of a "deal" because they can't afford the attorney, the jail time, the bond that it would take to get to a trial and they are just trying to get out of the mess with the least damage done to their lives as possible.

This whole process generates a tremendous amount of money for the municipalities where it goes on. It becomes less and less about who is guilty or innocent, or protecting the public, and more and more about sustaining a process that brings in a lot of revenue and provides jobs for a lot of folks.

Those of you who don't believe such things go on are naive. People end up doing jail or prison time and/or on extended probation, and even when they get out or off probation, they can't get a decent job because of their record. Long gone are the days of innocent people not pleading guilty to a crime they didn't commit. They are being placed in such overwhelming situations that they are just trying to cut their losses as best they can (and being advised by attorneys to do so), so there is some hope they can eventually get on with their lives away from the correctional system.

The standard answer from many of you is "Don't break the law and you won't have anything to worry about." That used to be pretty valid, but in our current environment, even that can't protect you anymore.

I have been a parishoner at Holy Cross in Pembroke,Ga. I remember the first time he was accussed of the sexual misconduct. I pulled my children out of this church, when i heard about the first case. But when they found him not guilty, i decided to bring family back. I have for children under the age 18 that has sunday school there. I have always been kind of wary of him. but now my family and i will not be coming back.. I dont know if the allegations are true. But I still feel like The diocesse should have kept him out of church when they found out in2010 that they had more charges pending.

...for sharing. You are a very caring parent.. Yes, choose the side of protecting your children.
Also, if you have an knowledge please contact the local police.
Two victims coming forward is a very hard thing for them to do...they are to be admired for their courage.

Btw.. Poandl was not found him 'not guilty', his lawyers got the case dismissed on a technicality... not for it's merits..

We were told charges dismissed. I do admire the kids that stood up though. I glad that they were able to not let it be swept under the rug. Believe me when i say if i ever found out something like this happened to my kids, I dont think he would make it to court. I do belive in justice. But sometimes its hard for us parents to watch someone else handle it. No matter if its a priest or anyone else.